Some new columns for 2.1

Let’s start with some minor changes for V2.1 – more columns in the object list.

The first new column is the Parallactic Angle of the object at the current local (sidereal) time. This is the angle between the great circle passing through the object and the zenith point, and the great circle passing through the object and the celestial poles.The angle is zero when the object crosses the meridian. This represents the angle of the field of view with respect to the north celestial pole when the object is viewed directly (e.g. using binoculars or an alt-az-mounted telescope). It’s useful for those folk who have a field rotator that requires the parallactic angle as input.

The second new column is the Plan Creation Wizard (PCW) level of the object (1 to 5). This is independent of the whether the object came from the PCW or not. The application passes the object through the PCW criteria rules and if the object fits into one of the categories, the level is returned. If not, the column is blank.